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Unlocked doors? OVPD advises you should expect thefts

Lock your doors! Police are asking people to avoid being an easy target for theft.

Recently, Ocean View Police Department reported a rash of burglaries in early November, including 10 car burglaries in two days. Every vehicle was left unlocked overnight.

“Only the ones being left unlocked are the ones being tampered with,” said Capt. Heath Hall.

They’re barely considered “break-ins” because nothing was broken to enter the vehicle.

“We wanted to remind everybody to lock their cars, don’t keep anything valuable in their car, and report suspicious activity in their neighborhood,” said Cpl. Rhys Bradshaw, OVPD public information officer.

Are locked cars ever burglarized?

“Rarely,” said Bradshaw, remembering a single incident “well over a year ago, when they broke the window to the car. We made an arrest in that.”

Unlocked cars are easy targets.

“Ninety-eight percent of the cars are unsecured,” Bradshaw said. “People just walk right down the street,” opening doors if possible. Criminals generally avoid locked doors.

If burglars can open a door, “they’ll take what they can get their hands on,” like sunglasses, money, charger cords, wallets, phones, GPS units and bigger items.

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